Report: Colts Pursuing CFL WR Duron Carter, Son of Hall of Famer Cris Carter

NFL gameday mornings are full of nuggets that have varying degrees of significance.  One this morning from CBS's Jason La Canfora regards the Indianapolis Colts, as La Canfora reported that the Colts are viewed as the favorites to sign CFL wide receiver Duron Carter.

Carter is the son of Hall of Fame receiver Cris Carter.  Duron has run into trouble, however, and hopped around in college while having academic issues.  He was a top recruit coming out of high school and spent one year at Ohio State before being ruled academically ineligible.  He then went to Coffeyville Community College before getting a spot at Alabama.  At both Alabama and then Florida Atlantic, academic issues again derailed him.  He was not drafted in the 2013 NFL draft and, while getting a couple of shots with NFL teams, never stuck around.  So he signed with the Montreal Alouettes, and he has had a terrific stint with them.  So good, in fact, that it sounds like he'll be heading to the NFL soon.

According to La Canfora, Carter will be eligible to begin talking with NFL teams on December 1, though won't be able to officially sign until February.  La Canfora reports that there are ten-plus teams that are interested in pursuing Carter.  One of them is the Colts, and La Canfora says they might be the favorite:

While there are no shortage of teams very interested in him (sources said the Seahawks and 49ers are likely to be among his other suitors), numerous sources continued to point to the Colts as a team looking to make an immediate impression with him. Veteran receiver Reggie Wayne is a free agent at season's end, the team has been willing to gamble on receivers with red flags and character issues several times - with minimal success - but aggressive young general manager Ryan Grigson is not afraid to take chances, he has extensive connections in the CFL (he worked for three years for Saskatchewan of the CFL) and the Colts have been closely monitoring Carter for quite some time.

The Colts have been known to look to the CFL for players, and that's where they found Jerrell Freeman, their starting inside linebacker.  The fact that the Colts are continuing to look there is no surprise.  And the fact that they're interested in Carter shouldn't really be surprising either, all things considered.  They've given troubled but talented receivers a shot before (see Rogers, Da'Rick) and when a 23-year old, 6-4, 205 pound guy has the skills Carter does it makes for a very intriguing prospect.  The Colts have a strong locker room with some great leaders, and they have one of the NFL's best quarterbacks in Andrew Luck.  The fit seems to be great, and with receivers T.Y. Hilton, Donte Moncrief, and Reggie Wayne (who, if he wants to, will have the opportunity to come back next season, I'm sure) Carter could step in without a ton of pressure but continue to work.  He certainly has the talent that makes teams want to sign him, and I think it would be a great move for the Colts to add him.

Of course, this is all still a long ways away and there will be several teams pursuing Duron Carter, as Jason La Canfora reported.  But it sounds as if the Colts might be the favorite to land the talented CFL standout.